Lesson Index – LearnEnglishLanguageWell

Using First Conditionals

admin — Tue, 28 Jul 2015 09:11:04 +0000

Real conditionals – First conditional sentences

The First conditional normally has two parts (clauses)

One part (clause) which usually starts with “if” gives a condition, the other part gives us a result if that condition is true.

Example:

If it rains (conditional clause), I will take an umbrella (result clause)

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The First Conditional is a Real conditional to show a situation that is possible:

If she studies well, she’ll get a good grade for university.

The Form is usually If + present tense, will + basic infinitive

If it rains, I will take an umbrella or I will take an umbrella if it rains

The result is possible if the “condition” in the if clause is met.

If I see him, I’ll give him your message. (I want to give him your message but first I need to see him)
He’ll be more relaxed if he meditates. (It’s very likely that he’ll be more relaxed but first he needs to meditate)
If Jenny studies well, she’ll get a place at Harvard. (She is capable of getting a place at Harvard, but first she needs to study hard)
If they have extra money at the end of the month, they’ll give it to charity. (They want to give some money to charity, but it depends on having money left at the end of the month)

Note:

1- In this type of conditional it is not possible to substitute “if” for “when, whenever or every time”

2- It is possible, in the first conditional, to use will in both parts (clauses) of the sentence. Will in the if clause shows willingness (volition) to do something and not future time:

If you’ll help me, I’ll be very grateful (= if you’re willing to help me)
If she’ll study hard, she’ll get a place at Harvard. (= if she’s willing to study hard)
If he’ll meditate, he’ll be able to concentrate more. (= if he is willing to meditate)

3- Will cannot be used in if clauses when it doesn’t show willingness

If they’ll have extra money, they’ll put in a special account. Is not possible, it is illogical.
If I’ll see him, I’ll tell him what you said Is not possible, it is illogical.

4- May and Might instead of Will can also be used in this type of conditional sentence:

If I arrive early, I may/might go to the party. (it’s possible I will go to the party, but first I need to arrive early)

5- Using the Imperative in the First conditional – it can be used in the result clause

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How to use Had better

admin — Sat, 25 Jul 2015 06:08:47 +0000

Had better for advice

Another free lesson from Learn English Languagewell

We use it in the English language to give advice about specific situations, not general situations.

—- You had better finish your homework before mummy comes home or she won’t be happy.

“had” is the past form of the verb “have”, but in the structure “had better” it refers to present/future time

Structure

subject + had + better + short infinitive of verb

You + had + better + finish. = You had better finish your homework

subject + had + better + not + short infinitive of verb

You + had + better + not + say = You had better not tell your teacher what had happened.

Examples:

The roads will be very busy tomorrow, we had better leave early.
I don’t have enough money, I’d better go to the bank and get some more. (I’d = I had)
John wants to run a marathon next year. He had better start training soon or he won’t be fit enough.
It’s going to rain today, you had better take an umbrella.
When you get home you had better not make a lot of noise, your father is sleeping.

Practise using “had better” “had better not” using this exercise

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Comparative adjective or “as + adjective + as”

admin — Thu, 23 Jul 2015 19:53:42 +0000

“(not) + as + adjective/adverb + as” or Comparative adjective?

We can use the two forms to compare people or things

Use the comparative form of the adjective + than:

James is taller than Mike
Maths is more difficult than statistics
It is hotter today than yesterday

Use the normal adjective with as …. as

Very often it is used with a negative verb :

Mike isn’t as tall as James.
Statistics isn’t as difficult as maths
Yesterday wasn’t as hot as today

But it can be used in the affirmative:

My son is 13 years old, he is nearly as tall as me
After her accident, Belinda is playing as well as last year.

“not + as + adjective/adverb + as” can normally be converted into a sentence using a comparative adjective:

Phil doesn’t drive as carefully as Ken = Ken drives more carefully than Phil
Northern Europe is wetter than the south = Southern Europe isn’t as wet as the north.

Learn how to form comparative adjectives, with examples

Exercise – superlative adjective practice

Practise Comparative adjective forms

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How to form superlative adjectives

admin — Tue, 21 Jul 2015 18:22:14 +0000

Forming Superlative Adjectives

Adjectives can be of:

one syllable (tall, young, old etc)
two syllables (early, modern, stressed etc)
or more syllables (intelligent, expensive, beautiful etc)

The English language tries to be efficient and practical

– we add -est to the end of an adjective if it is possible (tallest, youngest);
if not
– we add most before the adjective (most expensive, most beautiful)

Check how to form Comparative adjectives

Changes made to ordinary adjectives to form superlative adjectives:

One-syllable adjectives

1- Adjectives of one syllable that finish with “e”: we add “st” to the end of the adjective

wise > wisest; strange > strangest; close > closest

2- Adjectives of one syllable that end with one vowel and one consonant (thin, big, red, fat): we double the last consonant and add –est to the end of the adjective.

thin becomes thinnest; big becomes biggest and red becomes reddest

3- Adjectives of one syllable that finish with a consonant and “y” (dry, wry); sometimes we change the “y” for an “i” and then add –er – check a good dictionary.

dry becomes driest; but wry can be wriest or wryest

4- All other Adjectives of one syllable

for example:

– Adjectives that finish with two consonants: tall, young
– Adjectives that finish with two vowels and one consonant: proud, loud, great
– Adjectives that finish with one vowel and “w“: slow, new

we add -est to the end of the adjective

tall becomes tallest; young becomes youngest

short > shortest; strong > strongest; fast > fastest; hard > hardest; old > oldest

Proud becomes proudest; loud becomes loudest; fair becomes fairest
Slow becomes slowest; new becomes newest; few becomes fewest

Two-syllable adjectives

1- two-syllable adjectives ending in “y” (cloudy, pretty, silly, guilty etc); we change the “y” for an “i” and then add –est

cloudy > cloudiest; pretty > prettiest; silly > silliest; guilty > guiltiest

2- Some other two-syllable adjectives, many with the stress on the first syllable (narrow, simple, clever, quiet); we add –est to the adjective

narrow > narrowest; simple > simplest; clever > cleverest; quiet > quietest; gentle > gentlest; yellow > yellowest

3- With many two-syllable adjectives, including ones that end with “e“,(handsome, polite, common) –est or most can be used.

handsome > handsomest/most handsome; polite > politest/ most polite; common > commonest/ most common

4- Two-syllable adjectives ending in –ing, –ed, –ful and –less (willing, thrilling, pointed, muted, thoughtful, worthless) can only be used with most

willing > most willing; thrilling > most thrilling; pointed > most pointed; thoughtful > most thoughtful; worthless > most worthless
*** check a good dictionary if you are not sure

Longer adjectives

1- Words like unlucky (the opposite of 2 syllable adjectives ending in –y) are an exception; we change the “y” for an “i” and then add –est

unlucky > unluckiest; untidy > untidiest; unhappy > unhappiest

2- Compound adjectives with good or well have two possible comparative forms:

good-looking > best-looking or most good-looking

well-known > best-known or most well-known

3- Adjectives of three or more syllables (wonderful, valuable, intelligent) , we add most

wonderful > most wonderful; valuable > most valuable; intelligent > most intelligent, incredible > most incredible

Irregular adjectives when comparing

good > best John is the best at maths in his school.
bad > worst The weather today is the worse this month.
ill > worst I think ill of all James’s family, but it’s his father I think the worst of.
far > furthest/ farthest Hawaii is the furthest of all the USA states from Florida * furthest or farthest can be used in superlatives with far, it is generally a pronunciation preference. I personally use furthest to avoid confusion with father
old > oldest/ eldestr oldest is used for people or things , eldest is used for relatives (family members)
My car is the oldest in my street. My sister Liz is the eldest of all my brothers and sisters.

Exercise – superlative adjective practice

Comparative adjectives and adverbs -Introduction

Check how to form Comparative adjectives

Exercise to practise Comparative adjective forms

How to form comparative adjectives

admin — Tue, 21 Jul 2015 07:47:15 +0000

Forming Comparative Adjectives

Adjectives can be of:

one syllable (tall, young, old etc)
two syllables (early, modern, stressed etc)
or more syllables (intelligent, expensive, beautiful etc)

The English language tries to be efficient and practical

– we add -er to the end of an adjective if it is possible (taller, younger);
if not
– we add more before the adjective (more expensive, more beautiful)

Changes made to ordinary adjectives to form comparative adjectives:

One-syllable adjectives

1- Adjectives of one syllable that finish with “e”: we add “r” to the end of the adjective

wise > wiser; strange > stranger; close > closer

2- Adjectives of one syllable that end with one vowel and one consonant (thin, big, red, fat): we double the last consonant and add –er to the end of the adjective.

thin becomes thinner; big becomes bigger and red becomes redder

3- Adjectives of one syllable that finish with a consonant and “y” (dry, wry); sometimes we change the “y” for an “i” and then add –er – check a good dictionary.

dry becomes drier; but wry can be wrier or wryer

4- All other Adjectives of one syllable

for example:

– Adjectives that finish with two consonants: tall, young
– Adjectives that finish with two vowels and one consonant: proud, loud, great
– Adjectives that finish with one vowel and “w“: slow, new

we add -er to the end of the adjective

tall becomes taller; young becomes younger

short > shorter; strong > stronger; fast > faster; hard > harder; old > older

Proud becomes prouder; loud becomes louder; fair becomes fairer
Slow becomes slower; new becomes newer; few becomes fewer

Two-syllable adjectives

1- two-syllable adjectives ending in “y” (cloudy, pretty, silly, guilty etc); we change the “y” for an “i” and then add –er

cloudy > cloudier; pretty > prettier; silly > sillier; guilty > guiltier

2- Some other two-syllable adjectives, many with the stress on the first syllable (narrow, simple, clever, quiet); we add –er to the adjective

narrow > narrower; simple > simpler; clever > cleverer; quiet > quieter; gentle > gentler; yellow > yellower

3- With many two-syllable adjectives, including ones that end with “e“,(handsome, polite, common) –er or more can be used.

handsome > handsomer/more handsome; polite > politer/ more polite; common > commoner/ more common

4- Two-syllable adjectives ending in –ing, –ed, –ful and –less (willing, thrilling, pointed, muted, thoughtful, worthless) can only be used with more

willing > more willing; thrilling > more thrilling; pointed > more pointed; thoughtful > more thoughtful; worthless > more worthless
*** check a good dictionary if you are not sure

Longer adjectives

1- Words like unlucky (the opposite of 2 syllable adjectives ending in –y) are an exception; we change the “y” for an “i” and then add –er

unlucky > unluckier; untidy > untidier; unhappy > unhappier

2- Compound adjectives with good or well have two possible comparative forms:

good-looking > better-looking or more good-looking

well-known > better-known or more well-known

3- Adjectives of three or more syllables (wonderful, valuable, intelligent) , we add more

wonderful > more wonderful; valuable > more valuable; intelligent > more intelligent, incredible > more incredible

Irregular adjectives when comparing

good > better John is better at maths than Trevor.
bad > worse The weather is worse today than yesterday.
ill > worse I don’t think ill of James, I think worse of his boss
far > further/ farther Berlin is further from London than Paris * further or farther can be used in all comparisons with far, it is generally a pronunciation preference. I personally use further to avoid confusion with father
old > older/ elder older is used for people or things , elder is used for relatives (family members)
My car is older than my wife’s. I have two younger brothers and one elder brother called Neil